Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Given the craziness about the World Cup that we’re experiencing this summer, we’ve prepared a post for you so that you can watch a football match with the commentary in English, which we’re sure you’ll understand. Moreover, with this vocabulary you’ll be able to make some points and comments about the game and thus show your knowledge of English.

Let’s begin with the stadium and the most important parts of the pitch:

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

ManyThings is a website totally recommended for those people who are learning English and want to use the Internet in order to learn English online for free. In ManyThings you’ll find resources to practice every aspect of the English language: vocabulary, speaking, grammar, reading, listening, writing and even singing.

The only feature that could be criticised from ManyThings is its visual aspect. It’s like as if the design of the website hasn’t been updated since the 90’s. However, information is well organised and usability is not bad. Moreover, the resources, materials and activities that you’ll find in ManyThings are really valuable and this is what matters in order to improve your English.

Another interesting feature from ManyThings is that it includes games and activities with lists of vocabulary, grammar exercises, slang, anagrams (an anagram is a word made by using letters of another word in a different order), daily pronunciation practice and also exercises to learn songs in English.

In short, ManyThings is a website that you should visit this summer to practice your English.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Do you have enough time during the day to make the things that you like? Would you like to learn English but don’t know where to get the time? Your problem is very typical; lack of time is experienced by many. You know, time is money, but in my opinion it’s more valuable than money, since how and where do we buy time? Leaving apart philosophical questions, in this post we describe some handy tips to make the most of your time and improve your English level by listening to podcasts.

To be honest, the idea of this post came to me the other day while reading an article about “10 Minutes Gym” and I thought that there could be many people that would like to learn English but who have very little time during the day. The idea is simple: try to learn English while you carry out other tasks. Two things at the same time, is that possible? Yes it is, and with podcasts it works out very easily.

A podcast is nothing more than an audio file (normally in mp3 format) that you can download from the Internet and copy to your mobile phone (if it reproduces mp3) or an mp3 player like the iPod or any other from brands like Creative, Sony or SanDisk. Once you’ve copied the podcasts you’re interested in, next thing to do is to start listening and enjoying them.

The value of this is that you can do many other activities while listening to the podcasts. Some examples are:

While commuting: if you walk, travel by car or any other transport.

While doing exercise: we tend to prefer music, but while we run or are at the gym, it’s also possible to listen to podcasts about topics we’re passionate about.

While doing the housework: cooking, ironing or general cleaning.

When connected to the Internet: while browsing, on Facebook, checking your emails and so on, it’s also possible to listen to podcasts or even some digital radio like for example the BBC one.

Even while studying or working: only if you’re allowed to! :)

Why do podcasts help you to improve your level of English? Well, there are several reasons but mainly they can improve “your ear” and your comprehensive skill or listening. You can only improve your ear by practicing and listening once, listening twice and listening once more. Try to download podcasts in different accents: American English, British English, and Irish English... so that you ear gets used to these. Moreover, there are podcasts that contain grammar or vocabulary lessons so you’ll be able to improve your listening, along with other aspects of your English.

Where can I get podcasts? We could list hundreds of websites, but it’s better if you visit our podcast category and decide for yourself. Furthermore, if you have iPod and iTunes then you can subscribe to the podcasts and get updates automatically, it’s very handy.

Would you like to share another activity that you do while you listen to podcasts? Please let us know in a comment.

FYI, the preparation for this post took more than 10 minutes.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook cater to a generation that takes for granted the easy access offered by the internet. In the not-too-distant past, people who wanted to contact someone in another country had to, first of all, know someone in that country, then dial a ridiculously long number, deal with terrible connections, and finally, pay an arm and a leg for every minute they talked. It was either that or pen pals. Today, you can jump online and chat with someone halfway across the globe within seconds, provided you speak a common language. Lingomatch has filled a growing niche by merging social networking with the desire to connect on a global level.

Here’s what they offer: First and foremost, it is a Language Exchange Network, or a forum for people from around the globe to connect with others on the subject of language. Their slogan aptly offers, “Real People. Real Language Conversation.” In reality, Lingomatch offers a lot more. People who are learning another language (or languages) can post questions about words, phrases, slang, syntax, conjugation, or any number of topics that may be troubling them in their quest to attain fluency in a second language (or third, or fourth…). Further, they can search for others on the network that speak a certain language (or combination of languages) and contact them directly. It is an excellent tool for learning or practicing a new language and often, those who receive help are able to return it in kind, making this a truly symbiotic service.

It also presents an opportunity for those just learning a language to connect with native speakers, and in many cases, meet those who are living locally. Some people use it to start practice groups and recruit both learners and long-time speakers for immersive conversation (which is, after all, the best way to reinforce lessons learned in the classroom). Others seek or offer tutoring, while some, who may live outside their country of origin, are looking to connect with fellow countrymen in their new home. However, the vast majority of posts are written by people who are looking for a partner to practice with.

And the number of searchable languages listed is astonishing. Sadly, many of them produce no ads when searched stateside (it was easy enough to find Spanish and French speakers, but nothing for Afrikaans, Norwegian, or Xhosa, for example), but that is bound to change over time as the network continues to grow and expand. Just the fact that there are forty-four languages to choose from illuminates the intentions of the site. Lingomatch clearly hopes to fill all of those categories with both people who speak the language and those who are looking to learn it. Users can also search by different cities and countries in order to contact native speakers (finding people who speak both English and Portuguese is a lot easier when searching Rio De Janiero than New York City), so you may have to do a little digging to find what you’re looking for.

People are becoming more globally conscious by the day, and while linguistics is not a big part of life for most Americans (we do the two or three years required in high school and then forget all about it), many people from other parts of the world learn a handful of languages as a matter of course. It’s not uncommon for Europeans to be fluent in three to five languages. So Lingomatch is a great way to come in contact with others who share your passion for language, as well as an invaluable resource for language-learning.